Department News Archives
Potluck Memorial and Celebration of Life for Tom Lough (1928-2008) Nov. 22, 1:00 PM in Sebastopol
Faculty, students, staff and others in the university community are invited to a potluck memorial and celebration of life for Tom Lough, sociology, on Sat., Nov. 22, from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. in Sebastopol at the Youth Center (see directions below). Perhaps a side less known to his university colleagues, Tom was a professional musician as well as a dedicated and passionate teacher. His life and teaching will be recognized, in addition to two bands which will play at his celebration: Dixieland and rags by the Traditional Jazz and Strutters Society, with whom Lough played great piano during the last decade. Later on, the Thugz will play—a local band and a West County dancing favorite, whose piano player Sylvia was particularly admired by Lough. Also playing will be selections from Lough’s solo CD, “Professor Tom, Good Time Jazz 1898-1938' on which he plays rags, stride, Dixieland, and boogie-woogie. Guests are encouraged to bring a dish, drinks or flowers to share at the celebration. Directions from SSU to the Sebastopol Youth Center: Take 101 to Hwy 12 Fwy West toward Sebastopol. Follow Hwy 12, past the lights at Fulton and Llano Roads to the next light, Morris Avenue. Turn north/right on Morris, following it just until the road begins a turn to the left. The Youth Center/Annex, 425 Morris, is on the right; plenty of free, nearby parking.
Professor Katz to Join Department (February 2008)
We are pleased to announce that Sheila Katz will join the Department of Sociology full-time as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2008, after receiving her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University this summer. Professor Katz’s research and teaching interests include social theory, gender/class/race, poverty, social policy, social welfare, sociology of education, sociology of drugs, violence against women, and qualitative and participatory methodologies. Her dissertation research explores why single mothers on TANF pursue higher educational programs as their welfare-to-work activity, their narratives about their experiences in higher education and the welfare system, and how being involved in a grassroots advocacy organization affects women’s narratives. Look for her courses on the Fall 2008 schedule. Welcome, Professor Katz!
Professor Stearns Joins Department (August 2007)
We are pleased to welcome Cindy Stearns (Ph.D., UC Davis) to the Department of Sociology. Professor Stearns joins us after sixteen years as a faculty member and chair of Women’s and Gender Studies at SSU.
Charmaz Honored with SSSI’s Mead Award (August 2006)
Kathy Charmaz, Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of the Faculty Writing Program at SSU, has received the 2006 George Herbert Mead Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI). The Award recognizes Professor Charmaz’s scholarly achievements, her work as former editor of the journal Symbolic Interaction, her contributions to the discipline, her work with SSSI, and her ongoing mentoring activities. Charmaz has now been honored will all three of SSSI’s major awards: (1) the Charles Horton Cooley Award in 1992 for her book Good Days, Bad Days: The Self in Chronic Illness and Time (Rutgers University Press, 1991), (2) the SSSI Feminist Mentor Award in 2001 for her work with students and colleagues, and now (3) the Mead Award in 2006.
Three New Sociology Faculty Join Department (August 2005)
We are pleased to welcome three new tenure track faculty members to the SSU Department of Sociology: James Dean (Ph.D., SUNY Albany), Teresa Ciabattari (Ph.D., University of Washington), and Andrew Roth (Ph.D., UCLA).